Docking cable

ABSTRACT

A cable is disclosed which include a first connector, a second connector, a primary flexible cable segment coupled to the first connector at a first location on the primary flexible cable segment and to the second connector at a second location on the primary flexible cable segment, and a third connector coupled to the primary flexible cable segment at a third location between the first and second locations on the primary flexible cable segment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from commonly-owned U.S. Provisional Patent App. Ser. No. 60/541,961, entitled “Docking Cable,” filed on Feb. 4, 2004.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/173,734, filed on Jun. 18, 2002, entitled “Modular Computing System,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cables for use in computer systems and other electronic devices.

2. Related Art

Various kinds of input/output (I/O) cables are used to connect computing devices and peripheral devices to each other. For example, referring to FIG. 1A, a prior art I/O adapter cable is shown which connects to a first connector 102 a on a computing device and to a second connector 102 b on a peripheral device. Because the connectors 102 a-b may differ from each other, one purpose of the I/O adapter cable 100 a is to adapt signals from the computer connector 102 a to the peripheral connector 102 b.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a first prior art port expander cable 100 b is shown which breaks out signals in a multifunction connector 104 a on a computing device to individual device connectors 104 b-d at the ends of multiple cables 106 a-c, each of which may be connected to a distinct peripheral device.

Referring to FIG. 1C, a second prior art port expander cable 100 c is shown which connects at a first multifunction connector 108 a on a computing device and to individual device connectors 108 b-d at the ends of multiple cables 110 a-c, each of which may be connected to a distinct peripheral device. A single cable 110 d, which is connected to connector 108 a, breaks into individual cables 110 a-c.

Referring to FIG. 1D, a third prior art port expander cable 100 d is shown which connects at a first multifunction connector 112 a on a computing device. Cable 114 is connected on one end to connector 112 a and on the other end to a rigid multi-connector module 116. Module 116 includes connectors 118 a-c, each of which may be connected to a distinct peripheral device.

SUMMARY

A cable is disclosed which includes a first connector, a second connector, a primary flexible cable segment coupled to the first connector at a first location on the primary flexible cable segment and to the second connector at a second location on the primary flexible cable segment, and a third connector coupled to the primary flexible cable segment at a third location between the first and second locations on the primary flexible cable segment. The cable may, for example, be suitable for connecting a computing device (coupled to the first connector) to a plurality of peripheral devices (coupled to the second and third connectors). The second and third connectors may, for example, be of different types for connecting to different types of peripheral devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D are diagrams of prior art I/O cable configurations;

FIGS. 1E-1F are diagrams of cable configurations according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2B are diagrams illustrating termination details of cables implemented according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3C are perspective views of cables implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3D is a front view of an Ethernet connector of the cable of FIGS. 3A-3C according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a cable according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5A-5C are illustrations of computer systems including cables implemented according to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a cable is provided for connecting a first device (such as a computing device) to a plurality of second devices (such as a plurality of peripheral devices). The cable includes a primary connector for connecting to the first device and a plurality of secondary connectors for connecting to the plurality of second devices. The cable is connected at one end to the primary connector and at the other end to a first one of the secondary connectors. The remaining secondary connectors are coupled flexibly to the cable at positions between the primary connector and the first one of the secondary connectors. Among the advantages of embodiments of the cable is that the flexibility of the connections between the connectors makes the cable easy to fold, store, and transport. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 1E, a diagram is shown of a cable 100 e according to one embodiment of the present invention. Cable 100 e includes a primary cable segment 122, which connects at a first multifunction connector 120 a to a port 142 of a computing device 140, such as a handheld computer. Cable segment 122 is connected on one end to connector 120 a. Cable 100 e also includes connectors 126 a-b, which are connected to cable segment 122 by individual secondary cable segments 124 a-b, respectively. The secondary cable segments 124 a-b are coupled to the primary cable segment 122 at successive positions along the cable segment 122.

Cable 100 e also includes a connector 126 c at the end of the primary cable segment 122. As described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 2A, connector 126 c terminates the cable 100 e. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1E, therefore, the connector 126 c is not connected to the primary cable segment 122 using a secondary cable segment.

Cable segment 122 breaks out the signals in the multifunction connector 120 a to the individual connectors 126 a-c, respectively. Connectors 126 a-c may be coupled to ports 146 a-c of peripheral devices 144 a-c, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1F, a diagram is shown of a cable 100 f according to another embodiment of the present invention. Cable 100 f includes a primary cable segment 130, which connects at a first multifunction connector 128 a on computing device 140. Primary cable segment 130 is connected on one end to connector 128 a. Cable 100 f also includes connectors 132 a-c, which are serially distributed along the primary cable segment 130. The signals in the multifunction connector 128 a are broken out to the individual connectors 132 a-c. Connectors 132 a-c may be coupled to ports 146 a-c of peripheral devices 144 a-c, respectively.

The cables 100 e and 100 f illustrated in FIGS. 1E and 1F, respectively, may be used to expand the I/O capabilities of the computing device 140 or other device, and may be classified, for example, as docking stations, port expanders, or a combination thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, a diagram is shown which illustrates termination details of the cables 100 e-f (FIGS. 1E-1F) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, connectors 126 a-c include flexible over-molds 202 a-c and rigid (typically metal) connector bodies 204 a-c, respectively. Note that primary cable segment 122 and secondary cable segments 124 a-b are flexible even if connectors 126 a-c are rigid or semi-rigid.

Referring to FIG. 2B, connectors 132 a-c include flexible over-molds 206 a-c and rigid (typically metal) connector bodies 208 a-c, respectively. Note that primary cable segment 130 is flexible even if connectors 128 a and 132 a-c are rigid.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3C, perspective views are shown of a cable 300 of the type shown in FIG. 1F according to one embodiment of the present invention. The cable 300 includes a primary cable segment 304 that runs the length of the cable 300. At one end of the cable segment 304 is a primary connector 302. As will be described in more detail below, the primary connector 302 is suitable for connection to a computing device.

The cable 300 also includes a plurality of secondary connectors 306 a-f connected in series along the primary cable segment 304. As will be described in more detail below, the secondary connectors 306 a-f are suitable for connecting to a plurality of peripheral devices. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, connector 306 a is a FireWire® (IEEE 1394) connector, connector 306 b is a DC power in connector, connector 306 c is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector, connector 306 d is an audio out connector, connector 306 e is an Ethernet connector, and connector 306 f is a VGA out connector.

FIG. 3C shows the primary connector 302 in more detail. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3C, connector 302 includes three connectors 308 a-c: a DC power connector 308 a, a 36-pin docking connector 308 b, and a 14-pin docking connector 308 c.

Referring to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view is shown of the cable 300 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the cable 300 includes:

-   -   USB wiring 402 a for connecting to the Ethernet connector 306 e;     -   wiring 402 b for the FireWire® connector 306 a;     -   wiring 402 c for the VGA out connector 306 f;     -   wiring 402 d for the audio out connector 306 d;     -   wiring 402 e for the USB connector 306 c;     -   wiring 402 f-i for the DC power in connector 306 b, including a         power charge wire 402 f for charging a connected computing         device, a power ground wire 402 g, a power sense wire 402 h, and         a system power wire 402 i for providing power to a connected         computing device; and     -   a drain wire 408 that runs the length of the cable 300 and         connects to the outer shield of each of the connectors 306 a-f.

The cable 300 is enclosed in aluminum tape 404 and a PVC outer shielding 406. Note that in the particular embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, USB wiring 402 a is used to carry signals to and from the Ethernet connector 306 e. The Ethernet connector 306 e may, therefore, including appropriate circuitry and/or other means for converting USB signals into Ethernet signals and vice versa. The use of USB wiring 402 to carry signals to and from the Ethernet connector 306 e is shown merely as an example and does not constitute a limitation of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5C, examples are shown of the cable 300 in use to connect a computing device to a variety of peripheral devices. For example, referring to FIG. 5A, an example of a computing device 500 is shown. The computing device 500 may, for example, be of the kind disclosed in the above-referenced patent application entitled “Modular Computing System.” The computing device 500 includes ports 502 a-c for connecting to the connectors 308 a, 308 b, and 308 c, respectively, on connector 302 of the cable.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an example is shown in which the cable 300 connects the computing device 500 to a power source, network connector, and a plurality of peripheral devices. More specifically, primary connector 302 of cable 300 is coupled to connectors 502 a, 502 b, and 502 c of computing device 500. FireWire® connector 306 a is coupled to a FireWire® port (not shown) of an external DVD-RW drive 506 a. Power connector 306 b is coupled to an AC power supply 506 b through a transformer 508. USB connector 306 c is coupled to a keyboard and mouse 506 c. Audio out connector 306 d is coupled to a set of speakers 506 d. Female Ethernet connector 306 e is coupled to a male Ethernet connector 506 e, which may in turn be coupled to an appropriate network device (such as a router or cable modem).

A conventional Ethernet connector has a set of external colored status indicator lights. In contrast, as shown more clearly in FIG. 3D, the Ethernet connector 306 e includes a set of internal status indicator LEDs 320 a-b at the bottom of the inside of the connector cavity 324. In the example shown in FIG. 3D, LED 320 a is an orange LED and LED 320 b is a yellow LED mounted on a printed circuit board 322. When male Ethernet connector 506 e is plugged into female Ethernet connector 306 e, male Ethernet connector 506 is adjacent to the internal LEDs 320 a-b. Because the body of the male Ethernet connector 506 is translucent, the illuminated LED (either 320 a or 320 b) conditionally illuminates the body of the male Ethernet connector 506 with the corresponding color. The body of the male Ethernet connector 506, therefore, rather than the status LEDs 320 a-b, provides the direct visual indication of the status of the Ethernet connection to the user. This both provides an aesthetically pleasing effect and allows the size and complexity of the Ethernet connector 306 e to be reduced by eliminating the need to place LEDs on the outside of the connector 306 e.

VGA connector 306 f is coupled to a monitor 506 f. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 5B, the VGA connector 306 f includes both a female VGA connector 504 a and a male VGA connector 504 b. The female and male connectors 504 a-b are disposed orthogonally to each other on the connector 306 f. The male connector 504 b may be connected directly to the female connector (not shown) on the monitor 506 f. Alternatively, if another VGA cable is already connected between the monitor 506 f and another computing device (not shown), the (male) end of that VGA cable may be disconnected from the other computing device and connected to the female VGA connector on the cable 300. This facilitates switching the video source between the computing device 500 and other computing devices without the need to detach an existing VGA cable from the monitor 506 f. Note that this kind of orthogonal arrangement of female and male connectors may be used with other kinds of connectors, such as serial connectors.

FIG. 5C shows an example of a configuration in which the cable 300 is coupled to the computing device 500 and the monitor 506 f. Keyboard and mouse 506 c communicate wirelessly with the computing device 500 using BlueTooth® technology.

Advantages of various embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the following. Cables implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using a small amount of cable, and may therefore be easy to carry. The cable may also be easy to fold, store, and carry in a small amount of space because the connectors may be coupled to each other using flexible cable segments. Embodiments of the present invention, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1E-1F, may be topologically simple, visually appealing, and less prone to tangling than prior art cables. Such features provide embodiments of the present invention and systems incorporating same with a degree of elegance and ease-of-use.

Embodiments of the present invention may provide connectors which are positionally appropriate. For example, connectors for devices which typically are located furthest away from the computing device may be located at the furthest ends of the cable. Embodiments of the present invention may provide connectors that are positionally distributed even while topologically simple. For instance, cables such as 100 e concentrate peripheral cables that attach to module 116, potentially creating congestion at module 116, whereas cable 100 f, which is as topologically simple as cable 100 e, permits the peripheral cables to attach as connectors 132 a, 132 b, and 132 c, which may be comfortably distant from each other.

It is to be understood that although the invention has been described above in terms of particular embodiments, the foregoing embodiments are provided as illustrative only, and do not limit or define the scope of the invention. Various other embodiments, including but not limited to the following, are also within the scope of the claims. For example, elements and components described herein may be further divided into additional components or joined together to form fewer components for performing the same functions.

The particular cables and connectors disclosed herein are provided merely as examples. Cables implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may include any number and type of connectors in any combination. Although the cables shown in the drawings include exactly one of each of a plurality of types of connectors, this is not a requirement of the present invention. For example, a single cable may include multiple connectors of the same type (e.g., USB). Furthermore, cables implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may connect computing devices to peripheral devices, computing devices to computing devices, peripheral devices to peripheral devices, or any combination thereof.

Cable segments (such as cable segments 124 a-b) may have any length. Short segments, for example, may be desirable to make a cable easier to store/transport, while longer segments may be desirable to make the cable easier to connect to multiple devices that are far away from each other. The cable and/or segments of it may be retractable to enable their lengths to vary. Features of the cable types shown in FIGS. 1E and 1F may be combined with each other to produce hybrid cables.

The primary connector (e.g., connector 120 a in FIG. 1E or connector 128 a in FIG. 1F) carries a plurality of signals. For example, assume for purposes of illustration that the connector 132 a in FIG. 1F is an audio connector, that the connector 132 b is a video connector, and that the connector 132 c is a power connector. The initial portion of the primary cable segment (between primary connector 128 a and secondary connector 132 a) may include wires carrying all three of the audio signal, video signal, and power signal. The audio signal, however, may be terminated at the audio connector 132 a. As a result, only the wires carrying the video and power signals may be included in the portion of the primary cable segment 130 between connector 132 a and connector 132 b. Similarly, the video signal may be terminated at the video connector 132 b. As a result, only the wires carrying the power signal may be included in the portion of the primary cable segment 130 between connector 132 b and connector 132 c. Therefore, the cable 100 f may be made successively narrower, thereby allowing the cable 100 f to be made smaller and potentially less costly to manufacture. A similar approach may be applied to a cable of the type shown in FIG. 1E.

It may, however, be desirable to maintain a constant cable width. For example, a constant-width cable may be desirable for reasons of aesthetics or manufacturing simplicity. In such cases, the same number of wires may be maintained throughout the cable to maintain cable thickness. Alternatively, a constant cable thickness (i.e., cross-sectional area) may be maintained by using filler material after particular wires have been terminated. 

1. A cable comprising: a first connector of a first type, the first connector comprising a female output connector, a male output connector disposed orthogonally to the female connector, and a housing including the female connector and the male connector; a second connector of a second type that differs from the first type; a primary flexible cable segment coupled to the first connector at a first location on the primary flexible cable segment and to the second connector at a second location on the primary flexible cable segment; and a third connector coupled to the primary flexible cable segment at a third location between the first and second locations on the primary flexible cable segment.
 2. The cable of claim 1, wherein the first location is a proximate end of the primary flexible cable segment, wherein the second location is a distal end of the primary flexible cable segment, and wherein the third location is a location between the proximate and distal ends of the primary flexible cable segment.
 3. The cable of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second types is one of a Universal Serial Bus, IEEE 1394, video, audio, and power connector type.
 4. The cable of claim 1, further comprising: a first secondary flexible cable segment coupled between the third connector and the third location on the primary flexible cable segment.
 5. The cable of claim 1, wherein the second connector is affixed to the primary flexible cable segment at the second location on the primary flexible cable segment, and wherein the third connector is affixed to the primary flexible cable segment at the third location on the primary flexible cable segment.
 6. The cable of claim 1, wherein the first type is a video connector type and wherein the second type is a power connector type.
 7. The cable of claim 1, further comprising: at least one additional connector coupled to the primary flexible cable segment at at least one additional location between the second location and the third location on the primary flexible cable segment.
 8. The cable of claim 7, further comprising: a first secondary flexible cable segment coupled between the third connector and the third location on the primary flexible cable segment; and a second secondary flexible cable segment coupled between the at least one additional connector and the at least one additional location on the primary flexible cable segment.
 9. The cable of claim 7, wherein the at least one additional connector is affixed to the primary flexible cable segment at the at least one additional location.
 10. The cable of claim 1, wherein the primary flexible cable segment comprises: first signal transmission means for transmitting a first signal from the first connector to the second connector; and second signal transmission means for transmitting a second signal from the first connector to the third connector.
 11. The cable of claim 10, wherein each of the first and second signals is one of a Universal Serial Bus, IEEE 1394, video, audio, and power signal.
 12. The cable of claim 10, wherein the first and second signals are of different types.
 13. The cable of claim 10, wherein the second signal transmission means does not include means for transmitting the second signal to the second connector.
 14. The cable of claim 13, wherein the first signal transmission means does not include means for transmitting the first signal to the third connector.
 15. The cable of claim 1, wherein at least one of the second and third connectors includes means for converting a signal received at the at least one of the second and third connectors from a first protocol to a second protocol.
 16. The cable of claim 15, wherein the means for converting comprises means for converting the signal from a Universal Serial Bus signal to an Ethernet signal. 